Song of Victory
by sketched-daydreams
Summary: It could've been a simple story. A story of childhood friends sharing a bond forged from basketball with a happily ever after at the end. If only she wasn't a hyperactive weirdo and he wasn't a deadpan shadow, both with an unhealthy obsession of defeating a bunch of rainbow-haired basketball geniuses.
1. Prologue

**Song of Victory:**

 **Prologue**

* * *

"Hey Shige-kun, who is person you want to introduce me too?"

"Don't be so impatient, Suzu," the boy groaned at the girl's question. "You've already asked me three times already."

"I'm not impatient," the brown-haired girl pouted and was promptly ignored by her companion, "Its just that you haven't told me anything."

"That's the point of a surprise, isn't it?"

"Well at least give me one clue, Shige-kun."

"Excuse me."

The girl shrieked and jumped up as she turned sideways facing a small blue-haired boy that _clearly wasn't there_ a moment before.

"Hey, Kuroko!" The orange-haired boy waved with a grin.

"Hello, Ogiwara-kun."

"Oh my god, you almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Don't be so overdramatic, Suzu."

"Shut up! You know how much I hate jump scares!"

"I'm sorry for scaring you."

"No," the girl rushed to apologize to the blue-haired boy, "It's not your fault. It's Shige-kun's fault for not warning me."

The boy rolled his eyes,"Suzu, this is who I wanted to introduce you to. This is Kuroko Tetsuya."

The girl faced the teal-haired boy once more who now was staring at her curiously with round teal eyes. She bowed her head slight before giving him a bright smile.

"I'm sorry for how I acted before. I'm Yamauchi Suzume, nice to meet you!"

"I'm Kuroko Tetsuya, Yamauchi-san."

"You don't have to call me that, it makes me feel so old. Just call me Suzume, Tet-kun!"

"Tet-kun?"

"Yeah, we are friends right? We don't have to be so formal with each other. Right, Shige-kun?"

The orange-haired boy gave the smaller boy a pitying look and whispered, "Suzu can be really hard-headed and weird. She gives everyone she knows nicknames even if they don't want them."

"I can hear that Shige-kun!"

The teal-haired boy gave a small smile as the brown-haired girl started chasing the taller boy around waving her arms wildly. The orange-haired boy was clearly faster, evading all of her attempts to hit him with a grin.

"Would you like to play basketball with me and Ogiwara-kun, Suzume-san?"

"Of course, Tet-kun!" The girl smiled before dive-bombing and landing the orange-haired boy pulling both of them down to the group.

". . . you are a demon, Suzu."

"You only know this now, Shige-kun?" She answered sweetly.

And little did they know that the workings of fate were already being set into motion.

 **-o-**

"The school year is almost over isn't it?"

"Yeah, I can't believe that we are all going to middle school already."

It was a late evening, the last one of their primary school years, but Suzume feels like the world is ending before her eyes. Everything that she has ever known crumbling into non-existence.

"All of us are going to different schools, but we'll still be friends right?"

Kuroko gives her a small smile, "Of course, Suzume-san."

Ogiwara puts his hands on his head, "Stop talking about such depressing things. We are all friends and nothing is going to change that."

Suzume sniffles. "But, everything is changing and I'm scared."

"Stop being such a baby, Suzu."

With one last sniff, the brown-haired girl bursts in tears. Kuroko gives Ogiwara a displeased look, "Please have a little more tact, Ogiwara-kun. You are really terrible with girls."

"I'm just saying the truth!"

Suzume tries to contain her tears, "I'm sorry."

"It's alright."

"We'll make a promise."

Both Suzume and Kuroko looked at Ogiwara whose eyes gleamed with excitement, "We are all going to join the basketball club and play each other. I can see it now. We'll have an amazing championship match just like in those sports manga!"

"Shige-kun, you are so dramatic," Suzume hiccuped as she laughed.

"Well then I'll look forward to that match, Ogiwara-kun."

"You are so dramatic too, Tet-kun."

Suzume dries the last drops of her tears and flings her arms across both of them, grinning broadly.

"Well don't leave me out, Shige-kun!"

"But you can't join a basketball club, Suzu."

"I can still be a manager, Shige-kun you idiot."

"Hey!"

The three of them collapsed in fits of giggles and at that moment the future seemed so bright it was blinding.

 **-o-**

"Hello! Are you by any chance Kiyoshi Teppei?"

"Yes, and you are?"

"I'm Yamauchi Suzume! I'm applying for the manager position."

Kiyoshi Teppei, second-year captain of the Shoei basketball club, looked down at the overly excited first-year with a seemingly boundless abundance of energy. She was hopping up and down with her fluffy twin pigtails giving her the look of an little kid on a sugar rush.

"Well I'm sorry but the manager position is already filled by a third-year."

"Just give me a chance, senpai! I promise that I will be do an amazing job!"

Kiyoshi can't help but smile at the girl who didn't seem to let anything deter her. Her gray eyes were gleaming with excitement and Kiyoshi chuckled slightly.

"I'll talk to the coach about it, but you are welcome to come watch us at practice."

"Thank you, Kiyoshi-senpai! Oh no, I'm late for class! See you later!"

 **-o-**

Suzume was watching the practice match with a fierce intensity when Coach Fujimoto comes over.

"You are the girl applying for the manager position, correct."

"Yes! I'm Yamauchi Suzume, Coach Fujimoto," Suzume replied bowing her head and gaining an approving nod from the elderly coach.

"Why do you believe that you will be a good manager? Our current manager, Kentaro Tomoya, has been with this club for two years already, do you believe you can replace her?"

The girl blushes and shakes her head fevently, "I cannot say that I can replace Kentaro-senpai, because I have not met her. But I'm pretty good at figuring out strengths and weakness of players that I watch, so maybe I could help in some way?"

Coach Fujimoto raises an eyebrow, "You can? Can you give me an example?"

"Well when I was watching the practice match I noticed that Kiyoshi-senpai favors using his right leg which puts a lot of pressure on his left leg. I suggest that he when practices guarding that he lowers both knees to get into a good habit. Amano-senpai is a very good shooting guard, but he has a habit of looking around to pass before taking a shot. This can be easily taken advantage off by a fast opponent . . ."

Coach Fujimoto listens in disbelief as the girl speaks without any hesitation and is shocked to see that everything the girl said was true.

"That was very impressive, Yamauchi."

"Thank you, Coach Fujimoto."

"May I ask how you know so much about basketball?"

"Oh I've been playing and watching street basketball games since I was a little kid. My best friends absolutely love it."

Suzume smiles thinking of all those hours spent showing Tet-kun different shooting styles in hopes of finding one that would fit him, teaching Shige-kun how to dribble properly so that he wouldn't keep traveling, and just watching basketball matches on television with the two boys.

Who knew that it would pay off right now?

Coach Fujimoto smiles at the girl's enthusiasm. "Well consider yourself a part of Shoei's basketball club, Yamauchi."

"Yes!" The girl grins as Kiyoshi comes over to patting her hair while laughing. "You are certainly very hyperactive, Yamauchi-chan."

"I'm just so excited! Basketball is going to be so fun!"

 **-o-**

Shoei lost to Teiko.

It wasn't even a close match with Teiko leading with a double score and Suzume's heart is pounding through her chest.

It was Kiyoshi-senpai's last match in middle school and he looks so . . . broken by end. His usually cheerful grin and voice was muted as he dragged himself to the locker room.

"Kiyoshi-senpai . . ."

The older boy gives her a smile and ruffles her hair affectionately like he would to his little sister.

"Well I guess that is the end for me."

"Don't say that Kiyoshi-senpai, you can play again in high school."

"Of course, don't worry about your senpai so much Yamauchi-chan. It was a good last game and I had so much fun with this team."

But it wasn't, Suzume may be melodramatic and childish but she is in no way stupid. She knows that that game had been anything but good. She thinks of Teiko and the Generation of Miracles and shudders wondering how long that much talent can be contained before it explodes.

Kuroko was there though, and from what she had seen briefly, Teiko treated him with the respect that he deserved. Suzume just hopes that he knows what he is doing.

 **-o-**

 _"Yamauchi, I am quitting basketball."_

Suzume is frantic with worry, running from house to house trying to knock some common sense into her teammates. Everytime she had been faced by the same look. The look of someone loosing all hope and it is like a dagger piercing through her heart.

After that match with Teiko, her teammates broke. Their scored had been tripled, brutally without care or compassion. Aomine Daiki even left half way through to sit on the bench because as he pronounced loudly, "They are too boring to play against. There is no point."

Kuroko had stepped onto the court then but Suzume couldn't even look at him in the eye.

 _"Yamauchi-senpai, I don't think it is possible for me to touch a basketball right now without throwing up."_

This cannot be happening. Suzume feels like she is in a living nightmare.

 _"I give up basketball, there is no way I can compete with the Generation of Miracles."_

Suzume is cursing and can barely breathe but she doesn't stop running. Hoping against hope that she might be able to convince at least one of them to keep fighting.

 _"Please don't stop me. I'm turning in my resignation form tomorrow."_

"Tet-kun."

Suzume could barely hear Kuroko's voice at the other side of the call, but she doesn't end phone call.

"Suzume-san."

"Everyone on my team quit basketball, Tet-kun and I don't know what to do," her words are barely audible through her tears.

The silence is ice-cold.

"I'm sorry, Suzume-san."

Suzume turns off her phone and cries, but she knows that right now she is powerless.

 **-o-**

Kuroko's eyes look dead, as if all life has been drained out of them, and Ogiwara sees it too, if his clenched fists were any indication.

What has Teiko done to twist children into monsters bent on victory? The Generation of Miracles had nothing but arrogance in their eyes while Kuroko looks like an empty shell of his former self.

Suzume knows that look far too well and it makes her feel like vomiting to see it on her childhood friend.

 **-o-**

"Do you like to play basketball?"

It is a simple question. A yes or no answer that even a child could answer, but at that moment Akashi Seijuro looks at her like she had asked him the meaning of life.

"Basketball is a way to achieve victory."

Suzume knows at that moment that Teiko's opponents aren't the only ones who are broken to the core.

 **-o-**

11 to 111. Tears are streaming down Suzume's face before she could even understand the meaning of the score. There was no way that had been coincidental when Murasakibara Atsushi had just slammed the ball into the basket to score against themselves.

"Shige-kun!"

Suzume's voice was lost in the crowd of chatter, but she had seen Ogiwara's eyes.

Damn it. How could something shatter so hard that it can't be fixed? At that moment Kuroko managed to find his way onto the court and his eyes were identical to Ogiwara's. There was no doubt that he had recognized what his teammates did.

How strange that the first time their heart's connected it was on a basketball court and now their heart's were broken, shattered to pieces on a court with all three of them unable to stop it.

The universe certainly liked its irony.

 **-o-**

"Shige-kun!"

Suzume managed to corner the orange-haired boy after the match, but she didn't know what to say. Comfort him? Encourage him? None of it would help now after what had just happened.

There was a moment of silence before Ogiwara spoke.

"Suzu, Kuroko's eyes haven't lost their warmth. Can you please give him a message from me? Tell him to never quit basketball because of what happened."

"You idiot! Why can't you tell him yourself?"

Ogiwara's eyes met hers and they were so pathetically sad that she couldn't even be mad at him.

"I'm a coward, Suzu. I can't face Kuroko like this and I'm moving again tonight. I don't have a second chance."

He handed her his sweatband and Suzume clutches it like a lifeline.

". . . just give this to Kuroko for me please and tell him I'm sorry."

With those parting words, Ogiwara left.

 **-o-**

"Tet-kun, I'm going to help you."

Kuroko looked at her desolately as he held onto Shige-kun's sweatband.

"Why? I was the one who let them do those horrible things to Ogiwara-kun, your teammates, and everyone who has ever played against them," the boy managed to choke out.

Suzume pulls Kuroko in, hugging him and for once he doesn't pull away from the physical contact. She could feel his tears on her shoulders, but she kept holding him, making sure that he won't break. Not in the way she had left Shige-kun and her teammates slip through her fingertips.

"You shouldn't be the only one to carry this burden and we are friends are we not?"

She gave a sharp laugh.

"I don't know these Generation of Miracle guys, but think of me as a representative of everyone they beat when we defeat them."

"You never know how to back down, Suzume."

Suzume smiled at the lack of usual suffix behind her name and pulled Kuroko in a little closer.

"I may not be a good basketball player, but I'm going to support you all the way Tet-kun."

Suzume looks him straight in the eyes. Gray eyes on teal ones.

"And I don't plan on breaking that promise."

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading! This is my first OC fic so any advice or criticism will be much appreciated. The beginning might seem a little angsty, but I promise the following chapters will have some more humor to it. Please review if you enjoyed!**


	2. Quarter 1

**Song of Victory**

 **Quarter 1: The Shadow and the Manager**

* * *

"You want to join Seirin High School? It's a little obscure isn't it? I've never heard of their basketball club before."

"I'm sure, Suzume. I want to join their basketball club."

"Well I'm not arguing. Besides their uniforms are pretty cute. You'll look adorable in their gakuran, it even has a teal zip-up that is the same color as your hair!"

"Yes, of course. I obviously chose Seirin based on the fact that their uniform matches my hair," Kuroko replied with the slightest hint of sarcasm under his neutral tone.

Suzume laughed out loud as she printed out the application papers and presented them to Kuroko with a dramatic flourish.

"Well then Seirin better be prepared for a little miracle this year."

"I do not appreciate that joke on my height, Suzume."

"Since when have you ever appreciated my amazing sense of humor, Tet-kun?"

* * *

"Well he was definitely one big catch."

Hyuga Junpei and Aida Riko both stared at the retreating figure of the tall red-head.

"Kagami Taiga from America, I could see all his potential now," Riko grinned brightly with sparkling eyes,"though I still wished we could get just a few more potential recruits."

"Well it's not that surprising," Hyuga sighed,"we've only been established for one year after all."

"Excuse me?"

The two second-years looked up to see a girl picking up the application curiously.

"Is this the basketball club?"

"Yes," Riko replied quickly,"though its only for boys. Seirin doesn't have a female basketball club yet if you were thinking of trying out."

"Oh its fine. I was wondering if I could try out for a manager position."

Riko looked at the new recruit critically. It would be nice to have an extra hand to help but she didn't want some useless girl who only served as a distraction to the boys. The girl in question was an average height, dressed up in an open gray cardigan over the sailor uniform with her messy brown hair pulled over her shoulders. She didn't look like a basketball fan, but then again looks could be deceiving.

"You don't have to answer me now, senpai," the girl replied after a moment of awkward silence. "Please just give me a chance," the girl said as she turned in her form. "I'll see you at practice tomorrow."

With those words, she skipped off with a cheerful whistle before accidentally tripping into another student and falling into the crowd.

Hyuga sweat dropped. "The freshmen are certainly a strange bunch this year aren't they?"

"Well they'll bring some excitement into the club," Riko said as she scanned over the form.

 _ **Name**_ _: Yamauchi Suzume_

 _ **Class**_ _: 1-B_

 _ **Former School**_ _: Shoei Middle School_

 _ **Preferred Position**_ _: Manager_

 _ **Why you want to join the club**_ _: I want to make Seirin champions as their manager._

Riko looked in surprise, "Shoei Middle School? Wasn't that the school that Teppei went to?"

Hyuga looked over at the form," Yeah, I think that's what he told me. Yamauchi Suzume? Maybe she's that kouhai that he is also going on about."

Riko grinned, "Maybe so, Hyuga. Well now we've got two very interesting new recruits."

"Wait," Hyuga pulled out the form from underneath the one that Kagami Taiga turned in.

"Hey have you've seen this form yet?"

"Kuroko Tetsuya? . . . from Teiko!?"

"Seriously!? An alumni from Teiko as well? The freshmen this year are incredibly crazy!"

"Ah! I wish I could remember what his face looked like!"

* * *

"Hey, Tet-kun!"

Suzume slips through the crowd to see Kuroko standing calmly in front of the stand for the Literature Club with none of the members noticing him despite him being the only one in front of their booth.

"Have you signed up for the basketball club yet?"

"Of course," Kuroko said with a nod.

"Did they even notice you, Tet-kun?"

"No, but I left my form there already. By the way, Suzume, is that red-haired guy a part of the basketball club."

Suzume followed his gaze to see the especially tall boy towering over everyone else with a scowl on his face.

"Yeah, I saw him applying before I went to sign up. I think his name is Kagamine Tiger or something?"

Kuroko said nothing, but kept his gaze on the taller boy.

Suzume sighed, "Come on, let's go somewhere less crowded so I won't lose you. I spent almost twenty minutes trying to locate you. . ."

She turned to look next to her only to find out that Kuroko was gone again.

"Damn it, Tet-kun! That disappearing act is getting so annoying!"

* * *

"Tet-kun, you bastard!"

Suzume's voice could be heard loudly as she opened the doors to the gym and walked in. However the scene that assaulted her made her freeze in her tracks and frantically put her hands over her eyes.

"Is this a male stripping club or something!? I'm so sorry! I'm just looking for the basketball club."

"Suzume, this is the basketball club. Stop making a fool out of yourself."

Suzume opens her eyes to see Kuroko looking at her with his trademarked deadpan look, which was a lot less effective considering that he didn't have a shirt on.

Riko who had been watching the exchange with some amusement decided to put an end to it," Yamauchi, why are you late?"

"Oh, I had to talk to my teacher about something and I told Tet-kun to wait for me. But he decided to ditch me and I wasted 15 minutes looking around for him."

Riko frowned, "You were 30 minutes late."

Suzume scratches her head sheepishly, "Well I kind of have a bad sense of direction."

"This school only has one gym, Suzume."

"Be quiet, Tet-kun."

"Tet-kun?"

"Yeah, its my nickname for Kuroko. We've been friends for a long time!"

"I believe that it was you who forced me into becoming your friend."

"It's called creative persuasion, Tet-kun."

Kagami snorts, "That sounds kind of like blackmail."

"No one asked your opinion, you mutant giant."

"Mutant giant!?"

"Everyone be quiet!" Riko shouted, gaining back control before the three first years could go off on another tangent.

"We'll start off with some drills! Yamauchi! This is your test week so prove to me that you can be a good manager!"

"You got it ma'am," Suzume puts her hands in a soldier's salute and rushes off before Riko could decide if it had been sarcastic or not.

* * *

On the bus ride home, Riko considered the new recruits.

Furihata, Fukuda, and Kawahara were all pretty straightforward and probably had the most potential out of the rest of the first years excluding Kagami. They were all average players that could shine with a some specialized training and stamina drills, but the three stand out freshmen were Kagami, Kuroko, and Yamauchi.

Kagami had raw potential, the ability to really become a great player if only he could reign in that temper of his. Riko drooled thinking of how after some training he could really shine.

Now Kuroko and Yamauchi were the real mysteries that Riko still haven't managed to solve.

Kuroko had been absolutely terrible at all the drills during practice. He was the only one who managed to consistently fail at scoring even a simple layup, couldn't defend at all, and was by far the slowest of all the players.

When Riko asked Yamauchi about it, all the girl said was," Tet-kun is one of the greatest basketball players I've ever seen. He hasn't shown even a fraction of what he could do yet."

Riko found that especially hard when the boy's stats were so abysmal and the words of the boy's friend did nothing to convince her.

Yamauchi was a little less confusing, though Riko thanks the heavens that she hadn't managed to get two complete enigmas for kohai.

Yamauchi didn't bring water bottles, towels, or even show any competency at taping muscles. Instead the brown-haired girl had spent almost the entire practice session cross-legged on the bench scribbling in a notebook. Maybe she was some kind of eccentric genius though Riko could not make heads or tail of the scribbling that Yamauchi was writing in her notebook.

So far Riko wasn't very impressed.

* * *

"I am not like you. I am a shadow."

Kagami's eyes twitched at the confidence in Kuroko's voice. After that pathetic performance, Kagami really couldn't stand to hear any more pretentious words coming from the teal-haired boy.

"And you call me over-dramatic, Tet-kun," Suzume grinned as Kuroko recounted the tale during lunch the following day.

"I was not being over-dramatic."

"I . . . am . . . a . . . shadow," Suzume parodied in a serious, high-pitched voice while Kuroko gave her a deadpan stink-eye. The girl snorts out her juice in laughter as Kuroko looked at her disapprovingly.

"Tet-kun, do you really believe that this Kagami Taiga can beat the Generation of Miracles?"

"Right now he won't even reach their feet."

"Well that's why you and I are here right? We're the supporting actors to the light to make it shine even brighter on the court!"

"That is not funny, Suzume."

The girl sighed.

"No one appreciates drama anymore."

* * *

"Today we will be holding a practice match between the second-years and first-years."

"May I be a coach to the first-years?"

Riko sweat dropped at the overly enthusiastic Yamauchi who was bouncing up and down.

"Sure, why not?"

"Yeah!"

The other first years groaned, their senpai were all extremely strong and they doubt that the strange girl could do anything to change that fact.

Then the game started. No doubt the strongest player on the field was Kagami Taiga and Suzume could see what Kuroko saw in him. He really was the strongest in terms of raw potential, the opposite of such a specialized player like Kuroko.

However by the end of the first quarter, two of the second-years were double-teaming Kagami making it impossible for him to move freely. The other first years were all depending on Kagami to score the points so their hesitation made it easier for the second years to score points.

Damn it, Suzume's instincts were roaring up again and the thrill of game was enthralling her once more. She hadn't felt this excited in forever.

"Please calm yourself, Kagami-kun."

Honestly Kuroko had no survival instincts at all. Suzume grinned as she ran over to where Kuroko and Kagami were having an argument. She could remember all those childish arguments Ogiwara and Kuroko had that always seemed to end in the teal-haired boy's favor.

"Excuse me!"

All of the boys stared at her, but Suzume didn't really care at the moment. This was where her plans came together.

"If you guys want to win then you need to listen to me," Suzume's words were fast but direct and she had all of their attention on her.

"Our senpai may be double-teaming Kagami-kun, but that leaves a hole in their defense. Furihata-kun is left unguarded so he is free to move."

"Furihata-kun, I am right in presuming you prefer to do lay-ups on the right side?"

The brown-haired boy gave a small nod.

"Fukuda-kun please screen Mitobe-senpai while Furihata-kun goes in a drive for a layup. This is the best way to score while passing the least amount of defenders."

"Kagami-kun, instead of moving towards the basket please try to move away from it. This will lead Izuki-senpai and Tsuchida-senpai away from everyone else and reduce the amount of defenders near the basket."

The red-haired boy looked a little annoyed at the fact that he would have to go on the defensive, but he nodded his head in agreement.

"Tet-kun," Suzume gives him a meaningful glance, "you will be able to get away from your guard, right? I want you to back up Furihata-kun. Furihata-kun, don't hesitate to pass to Tet-kun if Mitobe-senpai comes to block you. If you somehow find yourself in possession of the ball near the net, don't hesitate to shoot it."

"Good luck!" Suzume shouts as Riko blows the whistle starting the third quarter before going back to her spot at the bench.

* * *

Riko narrows her eyes at the first-years, after Yamauchi had gone and talked to them they all seem more confident. They were communicating much better and seem to have an actual plan.

Kagami, especially seemed to be a lot more calm and intent on the game making less careless movements in anger.

Riko gives a glance at Yamauchi, the girl was sitting crosslegged on the bench as always but now she was grinning as if energized by the basketball game. Her gray eyes were scanning the court and her lips were moving as if she was reciting something to herself.

The moment the game started it was pure chaos. The second-years, expecting Furihata to try to pass to Kagami again were surprised to see the first-year point guard drive in for a lay-up, while Fukuda blocked Mitobe. With that surprising starting move, the first-years immediately began to change the tide of the game as their moves became more precise and calm.

When Mitobe broke Fukuda's screen, Furihata passed to his left to apparently no one, but the ball curved to Kawahara who had no hesitation when it came to shooting and scoring a shot. Not to mention Izuki and Tsuchida couldn't assist the rest of the second years considering that Kagami had been consistently dragging them farther away from the net.

When Izuki broke off to defend Furihata, Kagami took the opportunity to break pass Tsuchida and dunk the ball into the net with all his pent-up energy and loud, "Finally!"

The first years' plays were well coordinated and definitely not something that they could have come up during a 10 minute break. It was Yamauchi, who at that moment was watching the game with an intense focus. She wasn't just some weird childish girl without any knowledge of basketball. Now Riko can see the way Yamauchi was watching intensely, analyzing, and scribbling down plays in that notebook of hers. She was a tactician to a terrifying degree masked behind her hyperactive personality.

The game ended with the first-years' win, but it had been a fun game and the second-years weren't all that disappointed.

The star of the game was definitely Kuroko, who used his lack of presence to pass and steal every chance he got. Riko could now see how he could've been in Teiko. The phantom sixth man was no mere legend.

The boy was currently talking to Yamauchi who was currently patting the back of all the other first years with a bright grin.

"Yamauchi-chan," Riko runs over the dark-browned hair girl who gives a little jump. "Were you the one gave the first-years that strategy they used?"

"Yes, Coach!" the girl gave a mischievous grin, "I guess I'm not exactly a useless manager was I?"

Riko blush slightly at the younger girl's accurate question but answered, "That was some very impressive strategy, Yamauchi-chan, but don't think that you can get away with only that. I expect some excellent scouting to be done as well and bringing water bottles and towels to matches."

Seeing the younger girl's slightly disappointed look Riko added, "But you only have one more test before you become Seirin's official manager."

"Thank you, Coach! I'll do my best!"

 **Omake:**

 _"Kagami-kun! Furihata-kun! Kawahara-kun! Fukuda-kun!"_

 _The four first years turned to face the smiling face of Yamauchi Suzume who was currently dragging Kuroko behind her._

 _"Since we are all friends now I wanted to give all of you a nickname!"_

 _"Furihata-kun, you are Furi-kun!" The brown-haired boy looked like he wanted to shrink into the ground._

 _"Fukuda-kun, you are now Fuku-kun and Kawahara-kun you are Kawa-kun!"_

 _"And of course Kagami-kun is Tai-kun!"_

 _The red-haired boy glared, "Since when was I your friend and why did you use my first name!?"_

 _"Since I decided it five minutes ago and you're American so you should be used to it anyways. Now hold my bag for me and make yourself useful Tai-kun!"_

 _"Suddenly I understand your pain, Kuroko."_


	3. Quarter 2

**Song of Victory**

 **Quarter 2: Meeting Kise Ryouta**

* * *

"Why the hell are both of you here!?"

Kuroko looks up at Kagami with his blank eyes and replies in his usual deadpan voice, "I like the vanilla milkshakes here."

Kagami sputters in indignation while Suzume snorts into her fries, receiving a disgusted look from the red-haired boy.

"Well Tai-kun, can't friends share a meal together?"

"I don't want to be your friend, midget."

"Oh, hitting me right it hurts. I'm am a perfectly average height!"

"You are two heads shorter than me. You are still pretty short compared to me."

"Not all of us can be 190 centimeters tall, you know! You look like you took steroids as a baby!"

"You look barely any taller than a baby!"

"Oh you want to go there, Tai-kun?!"

Suzume and Kagami both stood up and engaged in a very intense glaring contest while Kuroko just sighed.

"I have way too much experience with this," Kuroko mutters before speaking up.

"Please be quiet both of you. People are staring."

Kagami and Suzume stared down at Kuroko who was calmly sipping his vanilla milkshake.

". . . it's not like they can see you, Tet-kun."

Kuroko gives her a disapproving look, "Sit down and eat, Suzume."

After all them calming down and eating their food when Kagami popped the question, "So who are these Generation of Miracles guys? Do you think I'm could beat them?"

Suzume snorts again and Kuroko flashes her a disapproving, but resigned look.

"You won't even reach their feet, Kagami-kun."

"You won't even reach their feet, Tai-kun."

The two answers were simultaneous and Kagami flushes in anger.

"What the hell is wrong with both of you?! Have some confidence in me!"

"Tai-kun," Suzume's voice was still light-hearted but there was a hint of bitterness in her words, "the Generation of Miracles aren't just some good basketball players. They defeated a whole generation of middle schoolers and held the championship title for three consecutive years."

Kuroko gave Suzume a sad glance that the girl didn't seem to notice, her eyes focused on Kagami. Suddenly Suzume slams her hands on the tables, grinning manically and slapping Kagami on the back.

"But don't worry Tai-kun! That's what Tet-kun and I are here for. We are going to beat the Generation of Miracles together!"

Kagami groaned, "I feel like I'm in some kind of cheesy manga right now."

"Believe in friendship, Tai-kun! That's how we will win, by exploiting plot holes with the power of teamwork!"

Kagami facepalmed.

* * *

"Yamauchi-chan!"

Suzume turns to see Riko waving her arms and shouting.

"Can you tell other first years that we will be meeting on the roof on Monday morning!"

"Got it, Coach. We'll be there!"

Riko snickered as the younger girl bounced off in search of the other first years, "This is going to be so fun!"

 **-o-**

"First-years! Declare to the entire school why you want to join the basketball club! If we you fail then you will have to strip naked and confess the girl that you like!"

"Can they confess to the guy that like too? Are we a progressive club?"

"Hey Yamauchi-chan! You are a first year too. You have no say in this!"

"Sorry, Coach!"

Still Riko grinned at the younger girl's words that seemed to only seem to serve the purpose of scaring the other boys even more. Well both Kagami and Kuroko didn't look that scared, but the rest of the first years looked scared out of their wits.

"Well who wants to go first?"

Kagami looking bored out of his mind at what he probably thought was unnecessary jumped on the railing bordering the roof without any sense of fear. Furthering cementing the fact that he was a irredeemable idiot in Suzume's eyes because honestly he could just shout behind the fence, but the world needed idiots to be interesting after all.

"Go Tai-kun!"

"Shut up, Yamauchi!"

Turning back to the crowd of students below him, Kagami closed his eyes and yelled without any hitch in his voice.

"I'm Kagami Taiga from Class 1-B and I will defeat the Generation of Miracles!" The red-haired boy shouted without any sense of embarrassment before stepping down from the railing.

"Well done, Kagami-kun."

Kagami shrugged, "Well whose going next?"

Riko glared at the rest of the first years who were all frozen stiff probably because they didn't understand why basketball was such serious business. Obviously they didn't know what they had signed up for.

"Come on, we don't have all the time in the world!"

Suzume raises her hand, "Am I suppose to this as well?"

"Yes, if you are really going to join this club I expect you to shout your intentions right now."

"Sure thing, Coach!"

The brown-haired girl walked over to the railing and shouted at the top of her lungs, "I am Yamauchi Suzume from Class 1-B! I will help the basketball club become champions as their manager!"

Suzume skipped over to where Kagami was standing and gave the rest of the boys a disapproving look. "If I could do this than you should as well."

Kuroko sighed, "You and Kagami-kun are shameless. Don't put other people on your level."

"Be quiet, Tet-kun."

Only Furihata, Fukuda, and Kawahara managed to have the chance to shout, each receiving a slap on the back from Suzume when they were done and probably still wondering if they had made the right choice in joining this club.

Just when Kuroko was about to shout with a loudspeaker as well, and Suzume was well equipped to record with her phone because this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, the principal had busted them. Suzume groaned loudly as the principal bursted through the door just when Kuroko was about to yell.

As the principal chastises Riko who was currently the epitome of insincere apology, Suzume nudged Kuroko.

"Hey Tet-kun, how are you going to show your intentions to Coach?"

Kuroko gave Suzume a mysterious look and whispered. "Don't worry. I don't plan on failing on my initiation."

The next morning, the whole school is abuzz about the mysterious chalk writing outside the school. According to everyone that she had talked to, the sentence, "I will bring Seirin to the top," was written.

Staring at the chalk writing from the window, Suzume grinned and muttered, "Honestly, Tet-kun. You have no right to call me dramatic after that stunt. Have you ever thought of becoming a ninja?"

"I don't know what you are talking about Suzume."

* * *

"Oh god, I'm late again!"

Suzume blazes down the hallway nearly tripping over her own feet and gathering the gazes of the other students, mostly concerned for her well-being if not amused.

"Why the heck does this always happen to me!" the brown-haired girl moaned as she managed to find her way to the gym. Only to find a brigade of girls gathered outside the gym that all seem to have perfectly permed hair and makeup clutching to pieces of paper, definitely not your usual visitors to a basketball gym.

As Suzume struggles to move through the crowd, one of the girls shot her a dirty look. "Back in line! I've been waiting for Kise-kun's autograph for half an hour already!"

"I'm the manager for the basketball team! You guys are blocking the entrance way!" Her words managed to get Suzume some leeway as the crowd parted slightly to accommodate her. Though there was some definite muttering among the girls that Suzume ignored. Riko's wrath was worse than anything these girls could throw at her.

"Honestly, Coach is probably so mad right now," Suzume mutters as she pushes her way through the other girls, hitting into bags and getting several face full of hair. Just as Suzume was about to reach the light at the end of the tunnel and salvation, the girl behind her pushes into Suzume and throws her off balance.

"Oh god!" Suzume shouts as she manages to once again somehow trip over her own feet to crash and drag down the closest person she could reach along with her.

With the person she drag down with her under her as a cushion, Suzume opens her eyes to see a pair of surprised golden eyes and the loud, angry shouts behind her.

Kise Ryouta blinks with those absurdly long lashes of his and Suzume wants to die. This wasn't exactly how she wanted to start her first practice as manager.

* * *

It takes approximately another half an hour to clear out Kise's fangirls of the gym who were still shouting death threats at Suzume for "molesting" their idol.

Kise had tried to calm them down by giving them a smile, that is probably insincere as all hell but still got swoons and shrieks from his fangirls that it was just an accident and that it didn't mean anything to him. But if the death glares were anything to go by, this wasn't over yet. Suzume just sighed, anticipating all the upcoming torture from the girls for this incident.

When the last fangirl was filed out of the gym, Riko finally asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Oh me?" the blond boy scratched his head sheepishly as if he wasn't the cause of all their problems. "I just wanted to meet with Kuroko-chi again!"

Suzume snorts and Kuroko doesn't even bother giving her a reprimanding look like he usually does. The boy's teal eyes were focused completely on Kise.

"You could've waited a couple more days until the practice match against Kaijou," Riko said disapprovingly.

Kise's eyes gleam and Suzume can't help but think that no matter how bright they were, they shone without any warmth. Like there was a certain layer of ice to them that only slightly melted when the blond boy was looking at Kuroko.

Honestly was this a shoujo manga or what?

"Well I wanted to see the team that Kuroko-chi chose," Kise whined before his eyes narrowed, "and to be honest I am disappointed."

"You bastard!" Kagami shouted moving forward, but Suzume catches him by the shirt.

"Look. Do you really want to get hate mail for beating up his pretty little face?" Suzume mutters at the enraged red-haired boy, which didn't seem to calm him down at all, but at least kept him from going all rage mode on Kise.

"So I want to propose that Kuroko-chi transfers to Kaijou!"

"Oh what the hell!"

Suzume jumps up forgetting about her words to Kagami in an instant and stared straight at Kise.

"Hey blondie! Why would Tet-kun ever transfer to your school?! And why do you sound like you are asking him to marry you?!"

Kise pulls off a perfect affronted look as he looked down at Suzume before sniffing dramatically.

"First you fall on me and now you are shouting at me? Some people have no manners."

Suzume blushes but doesn't back down, "That was an accident! Besides you were the one who brought in a hoard of fangirls. Do you know there is a thing called being smart? Think before you saunter into our gym with that ridiculous bleached head of yours!"

"My hair color is perfectly natural! You are the one who won't even let me have a civil conversation with Kuroko-chi! And why do you call him by his first name?"

"Jealous aren't you, blondie? Tet-kun and I are far closer . . .!"

"Oh really . . .!

Kuroko, always one to resort to pain when particularly annoyed, decided that this was the perfect time to stop Kise and Suzume's long-winded and rather pointless argument by jabbing them both in the ribs making both of them wince in pain.

That hurts, Tet-kun," Suzume groans.

"What did you have to hit me, Kuroko-chi?" Kise complained, but obviously had a higher pain tolerance than Suzume since he recovered within a second.

"Both of you were acting like little children," Kuroko says disapprovingly before turning to Kise.

"Kise-kun, I must decline your offer. I am perfectly content at Seirin."

"You go, Tet-kun!" Suzume grinned before wincing again because Tet-kun's jabs really did hurt and obviously he had no qualms over hitting a girl like that. Though that might be because he has dealt with too much of her crap.

Kise shot Suzume a dark look before flashing a smile at Kuroko.

"Well then, I'll see you again on the day of our practice match, Kuroko-chi~."

"And I'll see you there as well," Kise says glaring at Suzume and Kagami before walking out.

"Why does he sound like a manga character?" Suzume mutters, "People don't talk like that in real life."

"Maybe its because he is a pretty boy asshole," Kagami replied.

"How much money do you bet on the fact that he actually knows my name," the brown-haired girl mused, "I don't think I even told him."

Kagami snorts, "No one is stupid enough to take bet."

Suzume nodded approvingly, "I have underestimated your intelligence, Tai-kun."

Kuroko just sighs. He has had enough of childish stupidity today.

* * *

 **I hope you guys like this chapter. I had a hard time writing it, but I hope it was somewhat decent. Thanks for reading!**

 **Special Thanks for reviewing: Akashicchi-ssu, The Queen-sama**


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